My Ex Is Not Paying Child Support

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Any parent — married or unmarried — of a dependant child has a responsibility to provide child support (financial support) for that child. The usual amount that he or she should pay is set out in the Child Support Guidelines. The amount depends on how many children there are and what the payor parent earns. Stepparents may also be required to pay child support.

If you have a court order[edit]

First steps[edit]

  1. You can enroll with the Family Maintenance Enforcement Program, also called FMEP. FMEP will take steps, including further court action, to enforce the order for you. FMEP is a free program, and probably the simplest way to collect on a child support order from a reluctant payor. You can speed up the registration process by getting a court-certified copy of your support order from the Court Registry, and providing this to FMEP.

What happens next[edit]

Once you have registered with the Family Maintenance Enforcement Program, one of its workers will contact the other parent to see if he or she will agree to make voluntary payments. If that doesn't work, FMEP can take a number of steps against the other parent, such as garnishing pay cheques or bank accounts, intercepting Employment Insurance payments and income tax refunds, and arranging for withholding driver's licenses or passports.

If you do not have a court order[edit]

First steps[edit]

  1. You may wish to contact a Family Justice Centre. Counsellors at Family Justice Centres can provide information, mediation and assistance with applications involving child or spousal support in Family Court.
  2. Self-help information is available online at the Family Law in BC website. Click on "Self-help guides" under the "Shortcuts" option, then scroll down to "Family orders". There is a guide for situations where the parents agree on what an order should say, and those where they have not agreed.
  3. To apply for child support in Family Court, complete an Application to Obtain an Order (PCFR Form 1). You can get an Application to Obtain an Order online or from any Provincial Court registry. If possible, include what the person earns in the space provided in your Application to Obtain and Order. If the situation is unusually urgent, you may ask that the order be "without notice," meaning that the court will make its order without your ex-partner having a chance to be heard or being notified in advance. Without notice orders are very unusual and always interim, meaning short-term. The other person will eventually get to speak to the judge before a final order is made.

What happens next[edit]

Once you have filed an Application to Obtain an Order asking for child support and had it served on the other parent (who is now called the respondent), the respondent will be required to file a Reply and a Financial Statement (or a statement of finances for FMEP matters). A date will be set for a hearing by the Family Court registry. Check with the Registry, as some of them will have additional steps called Rule 5 you must take before they set a hearing date.

If the respondent doesn't file a Reply or Financial Statement, the judge may order him or her to do so or accept your evidence of what he or she is earning, without your ex's participation. You may have to ask the Registry for a hearing date if no Reply is filed.

Where to get help[edit]

See the Resource List in this Guide for a list of helpful resources. Your best bets are:

Before meeting with a lawyer or advocate, complete the form Preparing for Your Interview included in this Guide. Make sure you bring copies of all documents relating to your case.

This information applies to British Columbia, Canada. Last reviewed for legal accuracy by Stephen Wright, April 2017.


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